Traditional nail polish removers can contain a large amount of organic solvents such as acetone, ethyl acetate and/or butyl acetate, primarily because they provide good removability properties. However, these compounds have a very strong, long-lasting odor which is not desirable by consumers. In addition, they are harsh on nails and cuticles.
Nail polish removers which do not utilize acetone or other organic solvent are also known. Such compositions have been described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 8,835,369 the entire content of which is hereby incorporated by reference. While the composition of '369 is organic solvents free, it is not effective to remove water based nail enamels.
Nail polish removers suitable for removal of water based nail compositions have been attempted. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,827,807 describes a nail polish remover utilizing acetone, ethylene carbonate and alcohol. Another proposed solution for a remover of water based nail enamels is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,735,798. The compositions according to '798 contain acetone, ethyl acetate, ethyl alcohol, glycerin and water. Although, the nail polish removers offered by '807 and 798 are useful in removal of water based nail compositions, the down side is that they contain acetone may not be desirable from consumer point of view.
There remains a need to develop nail polish remover compositions that are acetone deficient and have high efficacy in removing water based nail enamels.
Without being bound by theory, it is believed that monoalcohol, alkylene carbonate and polyol have synergistic effect on removal of water based enamels containing acrylic polymer(s). It was observed that the monoalcohol partially dissolves and swells the acrylic film of the water based nail enamel. Simultaneously, polyol enhances the removal process by softening the acrylic film. Further, alkylene carbonate acts as both a solvent to partially dissolve the acrylate film and a plasticizer to soften the film. It was discovered that a specific ratio of the “odorless base” to monoalcohol is important in developing an effective polish remover for water based nail enamels containing the acrylic film former(s).